Insight
I worked with Howatson+Co on a three-week engagement supporting MYER Apparel Brands, focusing on Just Jeans during a peak retail period spanning Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year sales. The role sat within a broader digital design team responsible for maintaining and updating high-volume retail content across the Just Jeans website during one of the busiest trading windows of the year.
The engagement was embedded within an established Figma-based workflow alongside other designers, reporting into the agency’s design leadership. While the team is based in Howatson’s Surry Hills studio, the work itself was largely remote, with collaboration handled through online check-ins and shared design files rather than regular in-person sessions. An initial onboarding walkthrough covered file structure, CMS alignment, and campaign cadence, after which the work moved quickly into steady weekly delivery.
Idea
The primary focus of the engagement was the ongoing design and production of weekly on-site content. This included campaign updates, sales and promotional messaging, product features, and homepage banners, all designed directly within existing Just Jeans Figma files. Every piece of content needed to be accurate, brand-aligned, and prepared for export and scheduling within the CMS, with little tolerance for error given the commercial sensitivity of retail pricing and offers.
The challenge was less about ideation and more about disciplined execution under pressure. Content changed frequently, deadlines were tight, and designs needed to align precisely with CMS components and established templates. Within these constraints, the role required speed, clarity, and a strong understanding of production realities, ensuring designs could move seamlessly from Figma into live environments.
Each week followed a consistent cadence. Campaign details and offers were confirmed, homepage and promotional assets were updated in Figma, responsive behaviour was checked across breakpoints, and final designs were exported for CMS queuing. Figma acted as the single source of truth, mirroring live site structures and reducing friction between design and implementation.
Responsiveness was treated as a baseline requirement rather than an afterthought. Every update accounted for mobile-first hierarchy, legibility of promotional messaging, and image behaviour across screen sizes, ensuring campaigns remained effective during periods of high mobile traffic.
Impact
Across the three-week contract, I delivered continuous weekly campaign updates, homepage and promotional banners, sale and offer creative, and supporting product content for both desktop and mobile. The work integrated smoothly into an existing multi-designer workflow and supported uninterrupted campaign rollouts through a critical retail trading period, demonstrating an ability to operate effectively within fast-moving, high-volume retail environments.
